When did there become this huge push for standardized testing?  I don’t remember this type of push when I was in school.  Did it come with the implementation of NCLB?  I know that I am NOT a good test taker.  I get anxious, and nervous, and I feel sweaty, I don’t sleep the night before, and I usually experience fatigue and nausea the day of the test.  At our school there is a HUGE push for CRCT.  There’s a pep rally to boost enthusiasm over CRCT, there’s an attendance race to see which class(es) have perfect attendance during the week of CRCT, and EVERY student receives free breakfast each morning the test is given.  The principal also insists on knowing EXACTLY what you are doing in your classroom to prepare students for the CRCT and what test preparation skills you are teaching DAILY as well as how long you are spending on it.  Now ‘the powers that be’ are implementing GKIDS next year for ALL kindergarten students to track their progress and this will be done online—so it’s just about the same as the standardized tests being given to the upper grades, with the exception of the fact that it is oral and not written.  What’s wrong with allowing the teachers—the EXPERTS—to decide what type of assessment works best for their students and then administering that assessment accordingly?  If we all assess on the GPS then what’s the difference?  I think that ultimately some of the power needs to be given back to the teachers—the ones who are with the students ALL DAY, EVERY DAY—where it needs to be!